:: and guess what I got to do ::

that sounds really snotty. sorry, guys, I can't come up with a better subject line on the spot.

having been in a state of wordless excitement for the past two days, I bring you a special news bulletin and an overflow of words.

on may first, 2014, I got to see the touring broadway cast perform the phantom of the opera.

YES.

I DID.

this is may 1st, not april 1st. seriously.

the phantom was played by cooper grodin, christine by julia udine, and raoul by ben jacoby. THEY WERE GREAT. WOOOOOOOOOOO!

so after the performance (which I will not because I cannot describe other than with a lot of jumping up and down and screaming and a few tears, possibly) we went to the stage door to meet people. like, ten minutes after the performance ended -- because we got up as soon as the show ended and went right outside -- ms. udine walks right out and smiles at the ten or so people and is like, "hi guys!"
   she was awesome. she chatted and signed playbills and was totally nice. then she walked off down the sidewalk, through the people coming out of the aronoff center, and they didn't even recognize her!!! okay, so then carlotta came out; then andre and raoul come out together. they were awesome, too. so ben jacoby is all, "hey. …autographs? sure!" so he signs, like, everybody's, and then my sister jessa asked if my other sister lottie could take a picture of them. he goes, "yeah!" like he's thrilled and flattered (*swoon*) and jessa calls to lottie, "hey, lottie [something I missed because of what happened next]" -- and ben jacoby says, "lottie?" she says, "yeah…" and he's all, "like little lotte?" and lottie goes, "YES! exactly like!" and we all shared this amazing I-love-phantom moment. it was fantastic. and I was like BEN JACOBY JUST GOT HIMSELF A NEW FAN.

because really. he was so nice and funny and -- let's face it -- kind of super adorable as raoul and then as himself that you can't help but kind of super love him.

so we stuck around until the ridiculously wonderful cooper grodin showed up, and I was the very last person in line. he looked through the crowd of flirting, cackling teenage girls who'd just gotten their pictures taken with him right at me, smiled, and said, "hello! is there something I can do for you?"

palpitations, chet.

um, yes, mr. grodin, you can maybe give me cpr because I think my heart just stopped. TOO MUCH AWESOMENESS. I stepped forward, he steps through the girls to me, and I said, "all I wanted was to shake your hand [he totally smiles at me and gives a fantastic handshake] and thank you for a wonderful performance."
   then the great guy looks absolutely thrilled to pieces and says, "you're welcome! and thank you!"
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA THANKED ME!!!!

the amazing thing about them all was their utter amazedness that we knew their names -- that we cared enough to wait for their autographs; like, they totally weren't the sorry-plebs-I-have-more-important-things-to-do performers and that made them SO LIKABLE I LOVE THEM ALL. *coughcough butprobablymostlybenjacobybecausehewasawesome coughcough*

so it was thrilling and enchanting and wonderful and I cried because it was so sweet and sad and lovely and amazing.

the only heartbreaking thing about the evening was that… it's over now, the music of the night.

:')